Apparatus for removing and installing crucible or converter bottoms



June 18, 1968 o. PUHRINGER ETAL 3,388,501

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND INSTALLING CRUCIBLE OR CONVERTER BOTTOMSFiled April 5. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l MN, 6:1 3 I I IO 0 l2 O INVENTORS:

OTHMAR PUHRINGER RONALD SPANN LANG BY M. Vim. Maw-M THEIR ATTQRNEYSAPPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND INSTALLING CRUCIBLE R CONVERTER BOTTOMSGthmar Puhringer and Ronald Spannlang, Linz, Austria,

assignors to Vereinigte Osterreichische Eisenund StahlwerkeAktiengesellschaft, Linz, Austria, a company of Austria Filed Apr. 5,1966, Ser. No. 540,267 Claims priority, application Austria, Apr. 21,B65, A 3,648/65 6 Claims. (Cl. 49-324) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREDevices for removing the bottom from a metal-refining vessel in which acarrier for the bottom is attached thereto by hooks and keepers and thebottom is severed and withdrawn from the vessel shell by the flexing byhydraulic runs of toggle linkages having upper ends coupled to thecarrier. The lower ends of the linkages are coupled to a frame in turncoupled by hydraulic props to the vessel shell so as to convert thepulling force on the bottom into a pushing force on the shell. The framemay be provided by a wheeled support carriage.

This invention relates to an apparatus for removing and installingcrucible or converter bottoms, which apparatus comprises a means, whichis adapted to be lowered and lifted and to carry the crucible bottom.

Crucibles or converters for refining crude iron comprise a cylindricalor pear-shaped vessel, which is provided with a refractory lining. Thebottom may be integral with the shell or be detachable. When thecrucible is to be relined, i.e., when the refractory lining is to berenewed, a crucible having a detachable bottom is more favorable than avessel in which the bottom is integral with the shell. When thedetachable bottom has been removed, the hot brickwork cools more rapidlyand apparatus may be used for feeding refractory material to the freebottom opening and for introducing the refractory material into thevessel from below, from the mill floor.

Known apparatus for removing and installing detachable bottoms aremovable on rails to a position under the crucible and comprise a device,which is adapted to be lowered and lifted and to carry the cruciblebottom. Such apparatus has previously been employed for removing andinstalling the bottoms of basic and acid Bessemer converters. As hasbeen stated, it was adapted to lower and lift the bottom but wereincapable of forcibly tearing off the bottom. With basic and acidBessemer converters it was not necessary forcibly to tear off the bottomfrom the converter because the consumption is considerable so that theadhesive forces between the linings of the bottom and of the shell ofthe converter are very small when the bottom is to be removed.

As contrasted therewith, the lining in an oxygen top blowing converter(LD-crucible) is consumed in a different pattern so that the cruciblebottom is often sintered to the crucible shell. Besides, residual steeloften forms an arch on the bottom of the crucible so that very largeforces are required to separate the bottom from the rest of the vessel.

It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus which enables alowering and lifting of the crucible bottom to be removed or installedand to tear the bottom with great force from the crucible wall when therefractory lining of the bottom has become sintered to that of the shellafter prolonged usage of the crucible.

This object of the invention is accomplished in that the carrier meanswhich is adapted to be lowered and lifted and to carry the cruciblebottom is further adapted to be interlocked with the crucible bottom.

The carrier means is suitably provided with pivoted hooks, which areadapted to be hooked into keepers of the bottom.

The carrier means is preferably actuated by toggle linkage means. Thetoggle linkage means may be arranged to be substantially extended whenthe bottom is installed.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrier means is mountedby support means .in the form of a frame, which bears on the crucible,preferably with hydraulic props interposed.

The invention will be explained with reference to an embodiment shown byway of example in vertical sectional views on the drawing. FIG. 1 of thedrawing shows a crucible with an installed bottom. FIG. 2 of the drawingshows a crucible with the bottom removed.

A detachable bottom 2 is secured by cotters 3 to the crucible shell 1.To remove the bottom, the same is separated from the crucible liningalong the parting line 4.

The carrier means 4a which is adapted to be lifted and lowered and tocarry the bottom is mounted in a support frame 5, which is eitherself-propelled or adapted to be mounted on a mill car having wheels 5a.The frame 5 is provided on its top with hydraulic prop means forreacting on the crucible 1. Such reaction means comprises preferablythree or more hydraulic cylinders 6, which are adapted to bear on anannular flange 6a of the crucible wall.

The carrier means 4a comprises the guide ring 7. Pivoted hooks 8 aremounted on the top of the ring 7 and adapted to be hooked into orinterengaged with keep ers 9 provided on the converter bottom 2. Thering 7 and the hooks 8 are adapted to be lifted and lowered by a togglelinkage 10 and 11, which is operated by hydraulic cylinders 12. Such atoggle linkage has the advantage that large forces for tearing off thebottom 2 are available during a movement of the linkage from itsextended position whereas the large lowering movement is subsequentlyobtained while a smaller force is being exerted owing to thecharacteristics of the toggle linkage.

The large reaction forces which are produced during the tearing of thebottom from the shell are directly transmitted from the frame 5 by theabove-described reaction means 6 to the crucible shell so that theapparatus is independent in operation of its own weight and cannot belifted from the floor under the action of the large tear-off forces.

What We claim is:

1. In apparatus for removing the bottom from a metalrefining vessel by avertically displaceable carrier means adapted to be attached to andreceive said bottom and by mechanism adapted to exert through saidattached carrier means on said bottom a pulling force, the improvementcomprising, toggle linkage means having upper and lower ends coupledtogether through hinge joint means, said upper end being coupled to saidcarrier means, support means to which the lower end of said linkagemeans is coupled, and which is adapted to oppose upward movement of suchend relative to said vessel, and linkage motivating means coupled tosaid linkage means to produce by forcibly flexing such linkage means adownward movement relative to said lower end of said upper end andcarrier means when attached to said bottom and a consequent severing andwithdrawal of said bottom from said vessel.

2. The improvement as in claim 1 in which said toggle linkage meanscomprises a pair 10f horizontally spaced toggle linkages of which theupper and lower ends of each are coupled together by a hinge joint, andin which said motivating means comprises hydraulic ram means having aprimarily horizontal alignment and adapted to flex said linkages byproducing a forcible horizontal relative displacement of the respectivejoints of such linkages.

3. The improvement as in claim 1 in which said carrier means has thereona plurality of hooks adapted to be received in corresponding keepers onsaid bottom to thereby attach said carrier means to said bottom.

4. The improvement as in claim 1 in which said support means comprises awheeled support carriage for the combination comprised of said vesselbottom, carrier means, linkage means and motivating means.

5. The improvement as in claim 1 in which said support means comprisesframe means coupled to the lower end of said linkage means, andhydraulic prop means extending between said frame means and the shell ofsaid vessel, said frame means and prop means being adapted to convertthe pulling force exerted by said toggle linkage means on said bottominto a reactive pushing force on the shell of said vessel.

6. In apparatus for removing the bottom from a metalrefining vessel by avertically displaceable carrier means adapted to be attached to andreceive said bottom and by mechanism adapted to exert through saidattached carrier means on said bottom a pulling force, the improvementcomprising, toggle linkage means having upper and lower ends coupledtogether through hinge joint means, said upper end being coupled to saidcarrier means, a plurality of hooks disposed on said carrier means to bereceivable in corresponding keepers on said bottom to thereby attachsaid carrier means to said bottom, frame means coupled to said lower endof said linkage means, linkage motivating means coupled to said linkagemeans to produce by forcibly flexing of such means a downward movementrelative to said lower end of said upper end and cradle when attached tosaid bottom and a consequent severing and withdrawal of said bottom fromsaid vessel, and hydraulic prop means extending between said frame meansand the shell of said vessel, said frame means and prop means beingadapted to convert the pulling force exerted by said toggle linkagemeans on said bottom into a reactive pushing force on the shell of saidvessel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,054,557 2/1913 Jensenius 29-2522,243,006 5/1941 Houston 29-252 2,488,476 11/1949 Pine 29-252 3,010,19111/1961 McCullough 29-252 X 3,069,761 12/ 1962 Sommer 29-252 3,193,9157/1965 Gillie et a1 29-252 X 3,217,395 11/1965 McBroom et a1. 29-252FOREIGN PATENTS 953,535 12/ 1956 Germany.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. I. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner.

